NYPD Wraps Up Week-Long Dirty Bomb Drill

Hundreds of law enforcement officials from across the tri-state area are concluding a week-long exercise aimed at detecting and preventing radioactive material from coming into the city.

All week long members of the city’s police force have been been on alert, sharpening their skills for catching terrorists who might try to sneak radioactive material, also known as “dirty bombs,” into Manhattan. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says all pretend targets have been found so far.

“There have been a total of 63 hits or finds of radiological material,” Kelly said.

NYPD officers and personnel from 11 other major law enforcement agencies have been outfitted with handheld radiation detectors searching for four supposed terrorist cells trying to sneak a dirty bomb into the city on the roads, rails and on the water.

Hundreds of checkpoints have been set up in the city as well as upstate, New Jersey and Connecticut. While NY1 was at Riverside Drive and 96th Street on Friday, the handheld detectors went off signaling a SUV was dirty. It was all part of the drill.

“This is the biggest exercise that we’ve done. It includes all of our partners,” Kelly said. “This is a mandated exercise because the federal government has spent this money and they want to see if this program is working.”

The Department of Homeland Security is picking up the $70 million tab.

Police say, so far, real terrorists have not been detected in the exercise. Yet, people have been stopped who have traces of radioactive material on them.

“Somebody who has a medical test the day before. It once happened to me, I know,” Kelly said. “Actually, yesterday an officer had a test the day before and he was found when we were testing our radiation pagers.”

Some pedestrians walking past the United Nations on Friday say they were curious and wanted to know what was going on.

“I was so surprised. I have no idea. I just arrived here for a meeting,” said one New Yorker.

“It is a little scary sometimes because maybe they know something you don’t,” said another.

In the coming weeks, Homeland Security will let the NYPD know in great detail how well it did in protecting the city.